


open my eyes, and give me ears to listen

by malmiele



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23825023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malmiele/pseuds/malmiele
Summary: Aegon V's younger children honour their betrothals, and perhaps the world will be better for it.
Kudos: 17





	open my eyes, and give me ears to listen

In the depths of the night, she had come to his room through the window. Shaera had always been fitter than he was; there was a wildness to her, a spark no one could control. Sometimes Jaehaerys felt that perhaps she should have been born the man instead – she could be a proper knight like Duncan, a skilled warrior like Daeron was shaping up to be.

“Shaera?” He wasted no time in covering her with a blanket; she was only in her bedclothes, and the wind was chilly tonight.

“Let’s run away,” she says, voice soft but full of anticipation, lilac eyes sparkling brighter than the stars. “We’ll run away to someplace where no one can find us. What can Father do?”

“Run away?” The words are so temptingly forbidden, they nearly get stuck in his mouth.

She nods, holding his hands in hers. “I know a place. I mixed sweetsleep in the mead of the men that guard one of the back gates – we can get out just fine, through your window.”

“I-” This was all so sudden. Jaehaerys felt dizzy.

“My love.” Her voice is gentle, as it always is around him – and only for him, she always said. Jaehaerys believed her wholeheartedly, as he always did.

“We will be fine.”

She leaned in to kiss him, but in that moment his legs nearly buckled, and he stumbled backwards.

Her loving gaze turns accusatory. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Don’t be silly, Shaera. Of course I trust you. When have I not?” That softens the look in her eyes somewhat, at least, but Jaehaerys cannot help but feel ill at ease.

“Where did you even find sweetsleep?” He asked. “You know what the maesters say. It’s dangerous.”

“They’re just guards,” she brushes it off callously. “It doesn’t matter.”

Shaera’s begun to tie his bedsheets into a rope, hanging it down from his window.

Peering down from the window makes his stomach lurch.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Jaehaerys thinks of little Rhaelle, who they had lost to Storm’s End already after Duncan set aside his betrothed and ignited a rebellion. Even at the age of nine, Rhaelle was the very image of their mother, jet-black hair and large dark eyes. It had been a year since he had last seen her, and she wondered how she was faring. Lady Baratheon would probably not expect a girl so small to be so loud, although it might endear her to Lord Baratheon. If Lord Baratheon’s three children were equally dark-haired, perhaps Rhaelle would fit in nicely. Jaehaerys could only hope.

Lord Tully wouldn’t start a rebellion, right? He has met Lord Tully before, when arranging the betrothal between him and Celia – he was a soft-spoken and pleasant man, but he had been Lord Paramount of the Trident since he was a little boy, so he probably knew and was capable of a lot more than he seemed.

And gods know what would happen if they upset the vast Tyrell family and their Reacher lords.

“I don’t know, Shaera. But when Duncan broke his betrothal…you know what happened.”

“What happened exactly?” She rebuts him stubbornly. “Father won the war, did he not?”

“Can we really risk it again? You’ve met Lord Tyrell. How would he take you breaking a betrothal?”

She keeps her voice low, but her temper is starting to show nevertheless. “Father can solve those problems. You should be on my side, _my love_.”

When Jaehaerys doesn’t respond to that, she continues.

“Unless you don’t want to marry me? Unless you would rather that redheaded bitch?”

Jaehaerys sighed. “Celia’s not ‘a bitch’. Be nice-”

“So I’m right!” By now, Shaera had completely forgotten she was not supposed to be here. “How _could_ you, Jaehaerys?” Her voice drips with venom, and although Jaehaerys knew how bitter and poisonous Shaera could get, he had never seen it up close like this before, much less directed at him.

The anger bubbles up in his chest as well. What was she doing? All he had tried to do was offer another opinion, and she had gone off the walls, ranting and raving and at this rate, they would be discovered and whatever magnificent plan Shaera had would all be naught-

“Shaera Targaryen.”

Both of them froze. The door was open, and Father was there, dark purple eyes glowering at them.

Jaehaerys isn’t even sure what happened next, as it was all so _loud_. He’d always been the softest-spoken of his siblings, which is perhaps why Lord Tully looked kindly towards him, but it wasn’t always a good thing, as Shaera’s resulting cacophony gives him a nasty headache.

He shouldn’t be having headaches at fifteen, he thinks, but he pushes that thought to the back of his mind when Father turns to him. “Jaehaerys, I want to speak with you.”

Quickly, Jaehaerys snapped back to attention, and clears out a space on his bed for Father to sit on, noticing that Shaera had been brought away – back to her chambers, presumably.

“What happened just now?”

A mixture of frustration and tiredness causes the entire story to come spilling out without much coaxing. Father’s face is serious, but at least he didn’t look as mad as he was before.

“I hope you will continue being more sensible,” Father tells him, and Jaehaerys thinks it’s the closest to praise he has gotten in a while. He knows his parents love him, but he also knows he’s not very capable, or talented; he thought himself boring and bland, and loving Shaera had been the only interesting aspect of his life.

Now it seems that would be gone, too. Marrying Shaera was a distant dream before, but it was definitely impossible now. Shaera’s fury was hard to quell. It pains him; she had loved him so much, declared him her one and only, swore on her life that she would never leave him.

But all it had taken were a few words from him, and she was gone.

* * *

His parents, having known of their botched elopement plans, waste no time in bringing forward the date of his wedding. Lord Tully breezily agrees; if he knew anything of the reason behind it, he was doing a good job at pretending he did not.

Celia is as tall as him, and is as different from Shaera as night and day; she is full-figured while Shaera is slender, soft features while Shaera’s are chiseled, with dark auburn hair in heavy curls around her shoulders while Shaera’s straight locks catch the candlelight and shine like cloth-of-silver.

They had managed to coax Shaera out of the room to attend the wedding banquet, although no one could make her attend the ceremony.

Jaehaerys’ heart sinks when he sees her – she is obviously dressed in an attempt to upstage the bride. Father and Mother would be greatly displeased, but none of them could say anything while so many people were in attendance.

He had been speaking to Rhaelle during a lull in the music in between dances – she is nearly eleven now, and has grown quite a bit since the last time he saw her, and she is by all accounts very happy and well-treated at Storm’s End, which puts his heart at ease.

Only for him to see Shaera striding through the crowd towards where his new wife stood, talking to Mother. His blood runs cold.

He tells Rhaelle to write home often, pats her shoulder reassuringly, and quickly moves to salvage the situation.

He is a touch too late. Celia breaks away from Mother and her ladies to approach Shaera alone.

She has spoken before Shaera can open her mouth.

“My goodsister! I am so glad you could come after all. It must be so hard on you, especially since you were too unwell to attend the ceremony earlier.”

None of the ladies at court would speak before Shaera did. “You-”

“I have heard so much about you. You truly are as beautiful as everyone makes you out to be.”

“You had best rely on me in the future, Lady Celia,” Shaera said coolly. “After all, I know His Highness best.”

Jaehaerys felt like he could faint. Mother’s expression was darker than thunder. He didn’t dare to turn around and look at Father.

“I know,” Celia responds lightly, smiling down at Shaera. “My little brother knows me very well too. We are a year apart as well, just like you and my husband.” She places Shaera’s hands in hers gently. “I am very glad for your concern, goodsister. But I am Jaehaerys’ wife, so I think I will manage learning about him on my own well enough.”

Shaera fumes silently instead of throwing a tantrum there and then, and Jaehaerys decides to offer candles at the sept in thanks as soon as possible.

“And there is no need to be so formal with me,” Celia adds. “Since my goodsister is so worried for me, I would feel terrible if we did not become friends.”

* * *

When Jaehaerys reaches the bedchamber, he finds Celia already there, gingerly removing the string of abalone pearls that had been entwined in her curls.

He’s thinking of what to say when he hears a snap, followed by her going “Oh, damn these.”

“What happened?”

She looks up at him from where she was seated. “The string broke,” she replies, slightly embarrassed. “This was the most expensive part of my ensemble.”

The pearls shift from indigo to peacock blue and seem to flash a dozen other colours in the candlelight. They’re dark and exquisite, and much like her eyes, Jaehaerys realises.

“Don’t worry too much about them,” he tells her. “I think I can find a goldsmith who can make good work of these.”

She hands him the pearls in a box, and the conversation dries up into awkwardness. Jaehaerys had met Celia several times before their wedding, but it was always with her father, and she hadn’t seemed very inclined for conversation.

Then again, Jaehaerys had witnessed her exchange with Shaera.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Earlier?” Celia runs her hands through her hair to loosen it, unlacing her shift as if she was entirely unaware she was talking to someone.

“My sister can be quite fearsome. I’m afraid you’ll have to put up-”

“Not for long. She’ll be going to Highgarden eventually, will she not? Sooner rather than later, looking at the expressions of your parents.”

He is, frankly, stunned.

“How…how much do you know?”

“As much as anyone else would, I presume. You have to realise your sister isn’t particularly subtle about things. The whole of King’s Landing heard her wailing about being denied you.”

Jaehaerys felt the heat rising rapidly to his cheeks.

“You don’t have to be this anxious. I’ve known about what I’ve been signed up for. Mother made sure I was well prepared for this.” She smiles, but it is a different smile from the one she gave Shaera, or the one she gave him at the sept when he unclasped the nacre brooch that held her maiden’s cloak and draped the cloak of the Targaryens around her. This one is genuine, this one lights up her round face and makes her glow as if she was the moon.

“I think I can handle this. It will be easier if my husband helps me, of course. I trust you will?”

Jaehaerys thought himself boring, but perhaps Celia Tully was interesting enough to make up for it.

**Author's Note:**

> you guys have no idea how long this idea has been rotting in my computer  
> stay safe during these trying times <3


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